Barcelona is the capital and most populated city of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain. It is located on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea, on a plateau approximately 5 km wide and limited by the mountain range of Collserola. The Catalan capital, 166 kilometres from the French border and 120 kilometres south of the Pyrenees, is bordered by two rivers: the Llobregat in the south and the Besòs in the north.
Barcelona houses a great number of museums, which cover different areas and eras. The National Museum of Art of Catalonia possesses a well-known collection of Romanesque art while the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art focuses on post-1945 Catalan and Spanish art. The Fundació Joan Miró, Picasso Museum and Fundació Antoni Tàpies hold important collections of these world-renowned artists.
Several museums cover the fields of history and archeology, like the City History Museum, the Museum of the History of Catalonia, the Archaeology Museum of Catalonia, the Barcelona Maritime Museum and the private-owned Egyptian Museum. The Erotic museum of Barcelona is among the most peculiar ones, while Cosmocaixa is a science museum that received the European Museum of the Year Award in 2006.
Theatres and cinemas:
On working days, most cinemas have four showings between 4:00 in the afternoon and 10:00 in the evening. On weekends, some cinemas have matinees, at 11.30 or 12:00 noon, and late night showings at about 12:30 or 1:00 in the morning. Most theatres have one daily show, normally starting between 9:00 and 10:30 in the evening. Some theatres, however, have two shows, especially on Saturdays, with show times at 6:00 and 9:00 or 10:00 in the evening.
Discotheques and clubs:
Clubs and bars with DJs or recorded music generally open from 6:30 in the evening to 3:00 in the morning, while discotheques open at 11:30 pm and close at about 4:30 am.
The Rambla, the Ribera, Plaça de Catalunya, Passeig de Gràcia, Diagonal and the numerous shopping centres scattered round the city and its suburban areas attract a large part of the shoppers. But throughout the city one finds many lesser known shopping streets and neighbourhood shops, besides the city markets and street fairs, where one can buy all sorts of items at a fair price.
Shops in Barcelona open their doors between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning, and generally close for lunch at 1:30 or 2:00. They open again in the afternoon between 4:00 and 5:00 and remain open until 8:00 or 8:30 in the evening.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that many shopping centres and larger establishments do not close at midday. Many shops and all department stores and shopping centres open on Saturday afternoons, while all shops close on Sundays, except for a few dates when they are permitted to open.